Mark Threlfall: Hello and welcome back to the GTN show. Now, imagine running at 3:42 per kilometer
pace for over six hours? Well, that happened this weekend at the PROJECT CARBON X 2 event. Also over
here in the UK we have a bit of a fuffle going on over a proposed idea for equality within running
within cross-country which to be honest has left quite a few people a little confused myself
included. Finally, will the Olympic games be on this year or not? That is the big question.
[music] Then let's start by discussing
this ridiculous pace for the six hours. It was actually all part of an event to showcase the new
CARBON X 2 shoe from Hoka One One. It was an invitational 100K event in Chandler, Arizona.
We had six men and four women actually complete the 100K event but the spotlight was really on
Jim Walmsley as he hit the six-hour mark. Having run at three minute and 42 per kilometer pace for
the 100K which works out at 5 minutes and 57 seconds for people that work in per mile pace,
he managed to shatter the American record which previously stood at 6 hours and 27 minutes,
and now setting a new record time of 6:09:25. It was actually the world record that Jim really
had his sight set on and he got agonizingly close but just missed it by 11 seconds.
Over 100k, that's got to be painful. However, he does say, "We'll have to try again.
We're in the right ballpark and on the right track and have the shoe to compete and we're
knocking on the door. I don't think I'm done with the 100k. Fortunately/unfortunately
there's likely another one down the road" Great to hear that he's going to be doing
it again. He's absolutely a class runner. Obviously, we had an equally as exciting race
in the women's. We had Carla Molinaro and Camille Herron leading the race from the start though
admittedly Carla said she went off too hard and then Camille, unfortunately, had to pull out due
to a hip niggle. Then it was Audrey Tanguy that came slowly past them in the second half to take
the win in a finishing time of 7:40:36 seconds. Moving on now. Whilst we're talking of running,
what do you folk think to this? It's been a bit of a debate here in the UK over the past week due to
a proposed equality idea for cross-country running and that's been proposed by the UK Athletics or
the UKA. Here in the UK typically the men will run over a longer distance in cross countries
than the women. For instance, the senior men might run over something like 12K whereas the
senior women might run over 8K, sometimes even less than that, so substantially less.
It's not just limited to the UK, I must add. This is pretty standard
internationally and worldwide and that's been accepted for decades now. This proposed idea is
to equalize this so that both female and male are racing over the same distance. How that'll work,
we're not so sure, they may reduce the men's down to 10K and bring the women's up to 10K
so it's the same, which I think is a good idea. There has been a bit of a hoo-ha
as well due to a survey that UKA posted out which people feel had loaded questions in the UKA. We're
always planning to make these changes regardless of the results and the answers that they get back.
We're not going to delve into that, but the bit that has really surprised a lot of us is that
some very high profile elite female runners have opposed this equality idea. The likes of
Paula Radcliffe and some of the best cross-country runners in the UK right now.
Their argument is that the UKA has planned to make this move about first consulting the athletes'
commission. In addition, the athletes feel that it somehow suggests that their past performances
are viewed as somehow lacking simply because they were raced over
shorter distances than the men. The statement goes on and on.
Personally, though, I've got to say this is a total surprise. I thought they would have
jumped at this. I'm all for equality. I know in triathlon we're very fortunate that we have
equal distances between the men and the women and equal prize money. I don't know, in my mind,
I thought the runners would have jumped at this so I am left a little bit confused. I'd love to
hear your thoughts. Get involved in the comment section down below, let us know what you think.
Finally, there has been a lot of fuss over the Olympics this past week.
Will it be on or will it be canceled? Much of Japan is unfortunately under a state of emergency
due to a third wave of COVID-19 infections and as such, The Times reported that the government
had privately concluded the games would have to be canceled. The Times cited an unidentified senior
member of Japan's ruling coalition said that the government's focus was now securing the games for
Tokyo in the next available year, 2032. They were quick to respond to this article with a
government spokesperson saying there is no truth in the report and the Tokyo Olympic organizers
had vowed to press ahead with the rescheduled games which are due to open on July the 23rd.
The IOC issued a statement echoing that line adding, "We will be implementing all
possible countermeasures against COVID-19 and will continue to work closely in our preparations for
holding a safe and secure games this summer." It's getting exciting just following this,
not just the games. Well again, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you think the games will be on
this year or not? We should probably have a poll for this if we could. Also, do you think
it will happen? Just get involved in the comment section down below, let us know what you think.
For the tech news. First of all, I'm actually going to start with some exciting news from the
GTN team. Any eagle eye viewers may have already noticed this but we do have some new helmets
in our set. In fact, I'm going to grab one of them very quickly. We have now partnered with
Met helmets. This is the trencher which I've been rocking lately some of you may have noticed me
wearing it on social media we've also got their aero helmets TT helmet so the Coda Trunker behind
me here as well as this fancy one which is the drone which the like Fred VanVleet wear and
Rian Ferdinand even wore a couple of years ago. We've got numerous videos coming with these and a
company that's been making helmets since I think it's 1987. They've got a fair bit of experience
so very excited to be partnered with them. Look forward to seeing more of those on the channel.
We're now moving on and we have this exciting bit of tech, it's the Active+ Halo Smart Mask
from AirPop, which claims to be the first-ever air wearable mask. The mask has an inbuilt halo sensor
that monitors air quality to then provide the user personalized data on pollution, breathing rate,
and respiratory health. To do that, it connects to a smartphone app and that features things
like reminders and when it's time to replace the mass filter, what the pollutants the filter has
actually blocked, breathing cycles, behavior. It can also be used for activity sports so you
just put into active mode. The sensor will then measure metrics like breaths per minute, breaths
per pace. It's actually more than I thought. I thought it was a bit of a silly and funny idea to
start off with but I'm actually quite intrigued. [music]
Now on to the race news. Whilst we may not have much racing in most of the world right now,
triathlon is kicking off in Australia and New Zealand right now. A couple of weeks ago we
had the two-time review triathlon series in Victoria with the festival of races including
a big pro race. This weekend just gone, we had the Tauranga half in New Zealand which attracted
a big pro field. Kyle Smith had the race under control. He came off the bike with a three-minute
20-second lead going on to the run and he looked to have it in control but unfortunately did
start to fade in the closing stages and we had a very fast-moving Brayden Kerry towards the end.
Fortunately, though he managed to just about hold him off, collapsing over the line and doing so
he posted a time of 3 hours and 39 minutes, taking 2 minutes and 24 seconds off the old course record
that he had set the previous year. It was an equally exciting race for the women. We had Teresa
Adam coming out of the water just six seconds behind the lead and then just led from start to
finish more or less. Impressively she smashed 13 minutes and 46 seconds off the course record set
by none other than Sam Warren back in 2009. Hannah Wells was seeking a third consecutive
victory at this event and did try to chase hard on the run but it just wasn't enough to chase down
the very fast Teresa Adam. Had to settle for second place 4 minutes and 45 seconds behind.
Then meanwhile over in Australia, Jake Burt also got stuck into a smaller event close to home,
the Green Beach Triathlon. He says it was the beginning of his Tokyo Olympic preparation so
he wasn't expecting too much but unsurprisingly he led from start to finish. Whilst it may not
have been the biggest race, I'm sure he was just pleased to be back racing.
[music] Let's take a look through all the
photos that you've been sending in to us and see what you've been getting up to. I was very pleased
to see a couple of race photos coming in. This one from Brayden on his Principia Rexy pro, He's in
Penrith in Australia and he said it's his first race of the year, the Enticer Race and he came
second well. Congratulations to you. Brayden. Next one comes from Hayden and he's out on
his Specialized Shiv in New Zealand. He said, "Beautiful day here at the bottom of the South
Island." He's doing a bit of a hills day with 1,900 meters of climbing as he trains for his
first IRONMAN in five weeks' time in IRONMAN New Zealand and also doing Challenge Wanaka in
three weeks' time. That is an action-packed few weeks, but why not? Given the lack of racing over
the past year just snap them up when you get the opportunity. Best of luck to you that's every fun.
Next one from Jamie, he's on his Cannondale CAAD 10. He's sent in his pain cave from Chicago.
He said he's upgraded from a wheel-on to a direct drive and revamped the fuel station.
Yes, I can see you've got a lot of fuel there beside you. I'm sure you're noticing the
difference of a wheel-on versus a direct drive. I remember when I first made that upgrade and
there's a significant difference. Then finally this one from Nicholas. This is from
Liverpool in the UK. He's got his CANYON Speed Max in his new pain cave which he's preparing
for Outlaw X in 2021. Also IRONMAN California for 2022. I've got to say very, very smart pain cave.
Wondering, did you choose the paint based on the colorway on your bike. Let us know in the comment
section down below. Very smart and please do keep sending in all your photos and videos letting
us know what you're getting up to particularly during these times when they're also uncertain.
[music] Finally, we have the caption competition.
Last week we had this photo of the Australian team which I assume is for a mixed team relay.
Looking rather than confused, particularly Matt Hauser there. It has some great captions coming
in which I've whittled down to just a few. Patrick Cavanagh said, "When you realize
you're in the wrong team." Konstantinos Velaoras said, "This is probably the only thing that we
didn't practice." I really like that one. The winner is a woodbass94. He said, "Rock
paper scissors!" "Ha, Hauser, you go first." Very simple, I love it. You're the winner, woodbass94.
Get in touch, we'll ping a cap out to you ASAP. This week's caption comp photo is this. The guys
running out of the mist mid-race. I don't know it just reminds me of a scene from a movie or
a singer on the stage coming out of the mist. You get involved in the conversation down below,
leave your captions. That is it for the show this week, I'm afraid. I hope you
have enjoyed it. Do stay tuned for a ton of stuff coming out on GTN over the coming weeks,
including aero road bike versus triathlon bike. If you're considering upgrading to a triathlon
bike, then you may be interested in that video this weekend where I literally compare,
the aerodynamics the versatility of an air road bike versus a triathlon bike. Also,
we have foot pain when running. If you are someone that struggles with niggles
and pains in your feet when you're running, we're covering some of the main and I guess
the problematic pains that people experience. Delving into them, explaining why you're getting
them, and hopefully helping you to prevent them. Like I say, that is it for the show. If you have
enjoyed it, please do give it a like, give it a thumbs up. Don't forget to give us a follow
over on social media and give us subscribe just down below.
Check out some of our previous videos. This weekend we had a very popular video on, how does
a pro triathlete earn their money, and how much do they earn? We're very, very lucky to have Cody
Beals join us for that so make sure you check that one out. As well as comparing different recovery
methods, where Heather literally goes and tries out a load of different recovery methods, hard
geek. Make sure you go on and check those out. [00:13:45] [END OF AUDIO]